Different colors of baby S.mertensii
- Thread starter shutiny
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13880877#post13880877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wicked_NaCl_h2o
Yeah, mine only shows the stripes really well at night but aren't really noticable durring the day. Its tips look neon orange under actinics.
I have better than a picture..click on image
Yours is a nice one, though it appears that it is in the acclimation phase. I think it has the same coloration as the one in Michael's post as seen in its natural environment. But I have yet to be able to keep the same colors in my tanks.
You have beautiful chrysopterus, a pair? Kudos to you
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13882721#post13882721 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MJI
I have to say, i didn't do much detailed scrutiny, so there could well have been smaller ones.
The numbers are definitely small. compared to others like E quad, and H mag.
Unfortunately, I have to confess as to not seeing a gigantea on a dive yet. I would very much like to.
Here's a pic of a mertens from one of my dives:
This one and the kelly green coloration ones I have are the most common mertens that I have seen. I like the ones with lots "stars" on their tentacles, have you seen those on your dives?
Here is a baby "starry" tentacle one I have, it is in a 3x3 container.
Gary,
In my experiences, it is the only specie that should be collected for propagation and home reef. Haddoni is no where near mertensii as far as suitability is concern.
All these babies are wild ones, I only have some successes with H.magnifica, E.qua in captive propagation. The mertensii that I made manual division has not produced separated functional digestive system, so not any success yet.
Thanks Christina.
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wicked_NaCl_h2o
New member
I got the mertensii from reefscience on 9/26/08. It has been growing and doing very well since then.
Thank you for getting back with me Shutiny. I very much hope the Merten's that you fragged will continue to develop as individual anemones.
You're making me want a Merten's;-), but I don't have any space for one.
Christina, very impressive growth for such a short time. I'm glad it is thriving for you.
You're making me want a Merten's;-), but I don't have any space for one.
Christina, very impressive growth for such a short time. I'm glad it is thriving for you.
not at all, Gary. Here is the undeveloped baby, I made the cut in Aug, but first picture was taken in early Sept:
And, tonight:
I loved your blue stripes, Christina. Is the blue that intense in person or it was the picture /lighting? I had one for two years, but has not been able to keep any new ones since.
And, tonight:
I loved your blue stripes, Christina. Is the blue that intense in person or it was the picture /lighting? I had one for two years, but has not been able to keep any new ones since.
Thanks for the great idea, never thought about trying to feed it yet. I tried it last night, but, I think mom ate the food. Hard to tell at night but we'll try again today. I am wondering if repeated feeding at the baby may "encourages it to grow amouth faster.
Also, the cut was made in June, I found more data and pictures when I got home.
Also, some one mention to me about my posting mistakes in words like "common colors". So, let me see if I could do it better this time.
From all I have seen and from people that I encountered over the years, it seems that mertensii is not as numerous as haddoni, gigantea and ritteris. So, mertensii is not "common", may be I used "regular colors"instead.
-I meant to write"uncommon colors" in regards to Mike's mertensii picture, NOT"common" which is what I wrote.
-I seen more green ones than the gray/blue, purple, red, multicolor, and the exotic colors(like the one above by Michael).
-From what I have seen and read, gigantea and haddoni have much prettier colors than mertensii.
- about 90% of what I have seen have stripes.
-yes, there is not thing wrong or "regular" about green mertensii.
Sorry for the confusion, looking at my postings/what I wrote is like looking at my diver's license photo- Yaks!
Shutiny, I have observed with my RBTAs and H. magnificas, that after dividing, even before a mouth completely develops and moves to the central part of the oral disc, the anemone appears to eat. The food is taken to the place where the original mouth was and digestive filaments attach to the food. It's as though, even with half a stomach, they still are able to digest food.
You said it was June when the division happened on the anemone. Has it increased in size without target feeding for the last 5 or 6 months? Do you feel that target feeding is necessary with Merten's anemones?
You said it was June when the division happened on the anemone. Has it increased in size without target feeding for the last 5 or 6 months? Do you feel that target feeding is necessary with Merten's anemones?
I fed my RBTA and ritteris after 48 hrs and they did great. But this little baby has no exposed mesenteric filaments like the ritteri and RBTA's that were cut in half. Non the less, it has shown feeding response again, but the mouth from its mom is more aggressive taken food away.
You could see that it has grown a lot from the pictures:
In May before cutting,
In June,
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r111/shutiny/anemones2050.jpg">
You could see that it has grown a lot from the pictures:
In May before cutting,
In June,
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r111/shutiny/anemones2050.jpg">
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Thank you very much for the pics. It will be interesting to see if it will grow more quickly once it begins to take food. I imagine it will, but time will tell. Thanks for the work you do with anemones. You're one of the pioneers in captive breeding of anemones. Hopefully 10 years from now it will be old news and a clear protocol for fragging the different host anemone species will exist, but for now it's trial-and-error.
marc price
Active member
Re: Re: Please share more info
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thanks for posting your findings. i had a thread going on another site detailing the depth range of H. magnifica and now ive more info on another anemone of interest. not as though i expect to find one at my lfs any time soon (wishfull thinking), still its good to know more. btw i knew S. haddoni can be found in shallow water but didnt know they are sometimes exposed at low tide. thanks again;-)
Wow, Gary. That was very kind of you, I am a little embarrassed, though. But, your encouragement is greatly appreciated.
I learned a lot of info from other reefers like you, and your ritteris were one of the few that have been documented with spontaneous division with little cute/provocation. I always wonder if anemones live for centuries then what makes them decided when to have babies?
Was it environmental, genetic programmed as to frequency of spawning and division? specie specific?
When I read about your anemones and other's experiment like Phil did with his mertensii, it gives me ideas and enthusiasm to try on my own.
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Thanks Marc. What is the thread located? Can you tell or pm me? I always am interesting in reading about others' experiments.
By the way, there is a group of ritteris come in to LAX yesterday, not sure if your store can order one for you.
Re: Re: Re: Please share more info
Thanks Marc. What is the thread located? Can you tell or pm me? I always am interesting in reading about others' experiments.
By the way, there is a group of ritteris come in to LAX yesterday, not sure if your store can order one for you.
Thank you Shutiny. Mine split two years ago, November and they haven't shown any interest in splitting since. Unlike you, Flighty and Phender, I'm too chicken to even think about cutting one in half;-) Also, I only have three relatively small tanks, so I don't exactly have the facilities to carry off a fragging operation.
As an aside, do you have any magnificas under T-5s? I have two under MH (Colorvue 10000K) and two mags under T-5s. All are healthy and eat well and all that, but I'm thinking the ones under the MH look more like the pics of mags in the ocean. Just curious if you have tried T-5s w/ magnifica. As far as RBTAs, I think they love T-5s just as much as MH, maybe more. But I'm not convinced H. magnifica do. Whatever the case, the two under the T-5s are going to have to deal with it, I spent too much on the T-5s to go back to MH. Actually, if they seemed to be failing, I would probably bite the bullet and get a MH fixture. But fortunately, they are growing and eating and stationary and all that. The tentacles just look a little different than the "wild" magnifica pics. If you have any thoughts on the subject, I'd love to hear them.
As an aside, do you have any magnificas under T-5s? I have two under MH (Colorvue 10000K) and two mags under T-5s. All are healthy and eat well and all that, but I'm thinking the ones under the MH look more like the pics of mags in the ocean. Just curious if you have tried T-5s w/ magnifica. As far as RBTAs, I think they love T-5s just as much as MH, maybe more. But I'm not convinced H. magnifica do. Whatever the case, the two under the T-5s are going to have to deal with it, I spent too much on the T-5s to go back to MH. Actually, if they seemed to be failing, I would probably bite the bullet and get a MH fixture. But fortunately, they are growing and eating and stationary and all that. The tentacles just look a little different than the "wild" magnifica pics. If you have any thoughts on the subject, I'd love to hear them.
Long time ago, I did have VHO with a ritteri and it struggled until I added MH and that was the only time that I used non MH for large anemones.
Yes I noticed awhile back when you post your pictures that although they looked happy but tentacles were not as long and as even as the one that I have seen. I am not sure what significance that may be, if any. You anemones may have adopted to certain growth form that is suitable for them in a particular reef tank.
Are the ones with pc light as colorful as the one under the mh?
Are they thriving as the ones under MH? As large as the ones in MH? Do they wonder? Are their tissues as thick/vibrance as the ones under MH?
The ones under T-5 HOs are both from the same original anemone(reddish base) and then the ones under MHs are both from the original purple based anemone. I can say the purple based (under MH) have tentacles that are a little thinner, whereas the ones under T-5s have tentacles that are thicker (fatter if you will). As far as wandering, none of my H. mags wander. Stickiness, appetite, reactivity to touch seems the same for all of them, whether under MHs or under T-5s. The two under T-5s was my original reddish based one that I got over 7 years ago. Initially I kept it under PCs for a few years, then MH for a couple of years and now T-5s for a little over one year. When my two original anemones divided just over 2 years ago, they were living under MH. As far as size, the largest anemone is one that is under T-5s. But the fastest growth I ever saw was back when I got the first one and it was small and growing under two 96-watt either 10000K or 6700K (not sure which) PCs. It was right under the 96-watt bulbs, no shield, probably no more than 6 inches from bulb to tentacles. As far as color, I think the ones under MH have a darker, deeper color to them.
You've seen H. mags living in the wild, what kind of lighting have you observed them growing in? I've read articles (maybe it was Marc's post) that say they can be found from the tide line all the way down to 120 feet or so. Also, someone I've read says that in shallow water large populations of smaller H. mags can be found living in clusters, but as you go deeper, you find larger, more solitary ones. That writer speculated that they descend to deeper water as they mature.
I would love to know more about the field characteristics of this species and they range of lighting, etc. where they are found.
You've seen H. mags living in the wild, what kind of lighting have you observed them growing in? I've read articles (maybe it was Marc's post) that say they can be found from the tide line all the way down to 120 feet or so. Also, someone I've read says that in shallow water large populations of smaller H. mags can be found living in clusters, but as you go deeper, you find larger, more solitary ones. That writer speculated that they descend to deeper water as they mature.
I would love to know more about the field characteristics of this species and they range of lighting, etc. where they are found.
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